American Bar Association Resolution on Minimum Age of Juvenile Court Jurisdiction

This resolution adopted by the American Bar Association on August 9-10, 2021, urges all “federal, state, local, territorial and tribal bodies to enact laws which raise the minimum age of prosecution of children as alleged juvenile delinquents to age 14.”

From the resolution: “Children’s lack of risk perception, increased susceptibility to peer influence, and diminished capacity for future orientation, also affect competency to participate generally in adjudicative proceedings. Children ages eleven to thirteen were more likely to be impaired in their ability to voluntarily respond to police interrogation as authority figures, disclose information during consultations with defense attorneys, and respond to plea agreements. Based on these impairments children under the age of 14 are unlikely to have the developmental capacity to meaningfully and voluntarily participate in the law enforcement process in the way that adults can.

Although it is difficult to determine the minimum age of competency for each stage of court proceedings, most research suggests that most children are not competent in the legal context of being able to have a factual or rational understanding of court process and to meaningfully communicate with their attorneys and participate in their defense until fourteen or fifteen. As discussed previously, the U.N. Charter on The Rights of The Child sets the minimum age of juvenile prosecution at 14.

The Supreme Court has established that children are not little adults. It is time to connect this important principle to practice.”